Loraina stood in front of Lily's mirror, her nerves racing. She was wearing her ball gown, which she knew looked amazing. The straps were thin pieces of teal satin that attached to intricately beaded cups with silver, shimmering beads. The dress had a low cut front and then flowed, fitting the curves of her body, all the way to the floor. The back of her dress was almost non-existent, save for a teal silk bow. Her hair was down, in big, barrel curls, half of it pulled back, and her mask lay daintily on her lightly madeup face.

"You look amazing," Lily said from behind her in the mirror. She smiled at her friend nervously.

"So do you," Loraina said, and she meant it. Lily's dress also went all the way to the ground, hugging her every curve. It was a gorgeous, pale gold, beading all over. Lily's mask was just like Loraina's but gold instead. The front of her dress was also rather low cut, and Lily couldn't wait to see James's face when she came down. Lily's hair was done in a low side ponytail, cascading over one shoulder in glorious red waves.

"I think it's safe to say that we'll be the hottest girls at this ball," Delilah half-joked. Her dress was a ruby red, extremely low cut, to-the-floor number. It was a halter, and the straps around her neck had shimmering crystals on them. The bust of the dress was a shimmery silk, and the rest was a material of another kind, although equally soft and floaty. Her mask was a simple, red silk that contrasted beautifully with her extremely long, big gold curls.

"You can say that again," Lily said eagerly. "Let's go!"

They walked down the stairs into the Heads' common room, and Lily almost laughed at the befuddled expression on James's face. He tripped over himself as he walked toward her, and she couldn't repress the giggle that escaped her. He was dressed in a muggle tuxedo, by her request, and a plain black mask was over his eyes. Sirius had almost the exact same, only his mask was red, his bow tie was red, and so was his cumberbund.

"You look amazing," James gushed.

"So do you," Sirius breathed, when he was done choking on his own tongue. "You look beautiful."

"Where's Remus?" Loraina asked softly.

"Oh," Sirius said. "He should be here soon. When we left he was getting ready."

"All right," Loraina said with a small smile. "You guys go ahead. I'll wait here for him."

Loraina was slightly dissapointed that her big entrance had been ruined, but sat down daintily on the couch, waiting for her date. She knew he'd be there soon.

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When, an hour into the dance, Loraina and Remus didn't show, Lily and Delilah began to get concerned. James suggested a walk outside, and Lily agreed, following him, but still glancing back at the Hall nervously. Delilah and Sirius agreed to stay, in case Loraina and Remus showed.

"Would you like to dance, my fair lady?" Sirius asked dramatically, bowing. Delilah laughed and followed him onto the dance floor. A pounding, pulsating beat was blaring over the hall. When Sirius began to jump around like a mad man, Delilah took both of his hands and turned so that her back was to him. Placing his hands on her hips, she began to gyrate against him to the beat, and Sirius raised his eyebrows. He definitely liked this way of dancing.

Sirius, beginning to get more confident with this way of dancing, turned her around and the two of them began dancing in a similar fashion. Sirius looked up to see what was undoubtedly Orion, steaming mad. Sirius pulled her closer and turned her around again, breathing in her ear.

"Orion is staring at us."

"Let him," was her response.

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Loraina let another tear fall out of her eyes as she looked out the window of James and Lily's common room. She took in the reflection of the full moon on the water of the lake and sighed. It was such a beautiful, romantic night, and she had been stood up. She tugged her strappy heels off and pulled off her mask, discarding it on the floor. Loraina looked at the clock; the dance had started two hours ago. There was no way he was coming. She sunk to the ground, letting her sobs overtake her. So much for a perfect night.

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"James, I'm going to check on Loraina," Lily said. "I'm worried about her. I'm going to see if she's back in the common room."

"Okay, Lil," he replied. "I'll stay here with Sirius and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, yeah?"

Lily smiled and nodded, dashing off to check on her best friend. Just as she left, a mysterious brunette took his hand and led him to the dance floor without a word. With raised eyebrows, he followed and was pulled into the grinding dance in seconds.

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"Loraina?" Lily asked tentatively, stepping into her common room. She gasped when she saw her friend, sobbing and alone. She fell down beside her, hugging her tightly.

"What on earth happened?" Lily asked when Loraina had calmed.

"He stood me up," Loraina sniffled. "After all my hard work to look perfect for him, he stood me up!"

"He doesn't deserve you, Raina," Lily said, hugging her friend tightly once again. "I didn't see him at the dance."

"I doubt he would show after standing me up," Loraina figured. "I mean, you guys would have seen him alone and asked him about it."

"Why don't you come down, then? You, me, and Delilah can dance the night awya and forget all about stupid Remus Lupin."

"Okay," Loraina agreed reluctantly.

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Whether it was just the magic of the night or the fact that Delilah really liked him, Sirius wasn't sure, but Delilah was certainly outdoing herself, dancing all over him and consistently flirting. When she pulled him over to an unoccupied table, sat him down and crawled onto his lap, Sirius just had to say something.

"Delilah, what's going on?"

"Orion keeps watching," Delilah giggled. "I'm giving him something to watch."

Taking in a deep breath, Sirius said, "I don't want to fake date you anymore."

"What?" Delilah blinked, looking taken aback.

"I want to be actually dating you, Delilah. I really, really like you. I've even settled down for you, all of this year. Could you...could you maybe give me a chance?"

"I've been waiting to hear that for weeks," Delilah whispered giddily, kissing him soundly. Sirius pulled her closer to him, not caring that he could get weeks of detention for making out with his new girlfriend in plain sight.

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"C'mon. You're gonna dance with some new boys, and we're gonna have an amazing time!" Lily commanded, pushing Loraina into the decorated Great Hall. "I have to find James and tell him I'm back. I'll be right back!"

Lily weaved her way through the crowds, blinking in surprise when she saw James with some brunette, clad in a bright yellow dress that had huge parts cut out. They were dancing with no space between them, and Lily bit her lip, forcing her emotions to stay at bay. Maybe it wasn't James. There were hundreds of guys dressed just like James. Yet that messy black hair was unmistakable...

When he looked up and she saw his hazel eyes, she immediately knew that her suspicions had been right. She turned on her heel and stalked back toward Loraina.

"LILY! WAIT!" James shouted, pushing through dancing couples to find his girlfriend. At least, he hoped she still was.

When he continued to chase after her, she grabbed Loraina's hand and the two of them got lost in the dance floor, dancing with random people who they would probably never talk to again, as they were all wearing elaborate masks that hid their identity.

James felt his stomach tighten in a knot. He hadn't intended things with Brunette Girl to get this far. They were just dancing, but he also knew that they way they had been dancing wasn't exactly appropriate, especially for a guy with a girlfriend. He wasn't sure where Lily went, so he ran out and searched the grounds, surprised to see a full moon in the sky.

So that's where Remus went...

Author's Note: I have no idea how Brunette Girl got in there! I've been waiting to do this Remus/Loraina thing for a long time, since I came up with it last night. AND HOORAH! SIRIUS AND DELILAH ARE FOR-REAL-DATING!